Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
|
|
j BACKGROUND
Born on Long Island and raised in Brooklyn, New York
j CAREER
Began his writing career as a journalist and became a newspaper editor but was discharged due to his strong opposition to slavery and took a job as a journalist in New Orleans and learned of the diversity of American landscapes and people
In 1850 he left journalism to become a poet
j WORKS
Leaves of Grass, a collection of poems, he viewed as one large poem, that captures the diversity of the American people
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
"O Captain! My Captain!"
j QUOTE
"When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, / And the great star early droop'd iun the western sky in the night, / I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring."
j SIGNIFICANCE
First American poet to use free verse--his poetry is known for its free, expansive lines that scrawl across the page seemingly without restraint
Regarded as one of America's most talented poets
|
Image credit. Photograph of Walt Whitman. "Walt Whitman, Three-quarter Length Portrait, Standing, Facing Front." 1849-50. Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs Online. Library of Congress. 2006. 7 Jul. 2007 <http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/09300/09313v.jpg>.
|
|
